Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of ruthful

103 similar words · 2 opposite words

Another word for ruthful is depressed. Other synonyms of ruthful are miserable, unhappy, heavy-hearted, low-spirited and grief-stricken. The opposite of ruthful is ruthless.

Synonyms and similar words for ruthful

adjectiveFull of sorrow; sorrowful; woeful; rueful.

  • lamentfulReplete with lamentation; mournful.
  • mournfulFilled with grief or sadness; being in a state in which one mourns.
  • wistfulSad and thoughtful.
  • atrabiliary
  • atrabilious
  • blithelessWithout happiness or joy; unjoyful; sorrowful; sad.
  • dispiritedWithout energy, gusto or drive, enervated, without the will to accomplish, disheartened.
  • blueDepressed, melancholic, sad.
  • bummed outDepressed, disappointed, in a gloomy mood.
  • chapfallenCrestfallen, dejected.
  • cheerlessDevoid of cheer; gloomy.
  • chopfallenSynonym of chapfallen.
  • crestfallen
  • cut up Australia, UKEmotionally upset; mentally distressed.
  • damp figuratively
  • dejectedSad and dispirited.
  • depressedUnhappy; despondent.
  • despondentIn low spirits from loss of hope or courage.
  • disgruntledIn a dissatisfied, frustrated, or upset mood; in a bad temper or ill humour.
  • disconsolateSeemingly beyond consolation; inconsolable.
  • disheartenedDiscouraged, despairing.
  • dismalDepressing, dreary, cheerless.
  • dolefulFilled with grief, mournful, bringing feelings of sadness.
  • dolesomeCharacterised or marked by sorrow and grief; doleful; dismal; gloomy.
  • downSad, unhappy, depressed, feeling low.
  • down in the dumpsSad; lacking engagement or enthusiasm.
  • down in the mouthSad or discouraged, especially as indicated by one's facial appearance.
  • downcastOf a person: feeling despondent or discouraged.
  • downheartedSad, discouraged, in low spirits, unhappy, having no hope.
  • downsomeLow-spirited; melancholy.
  • dullBored, depressed, down.
  • elegiacExpressing sorrow or mourning.
  • elegiousMelancholy, miserable, plaintive.
  • forlornPitifully sad, wretched, miserable; lonely, especially from feeling abandoned, deserted, forsaken.
  • gloomySuffering from gloom; melancholy; dejected.
  • glumDespondent; moody; sullen.
  • grief-strickenVery sad.
  • grievingFeeling or showing sorrow or distress due to loss, especially the death of someone.
  • heavy-heartedSad, melancholic.
  • heartsoreHeartsick.
  • heartsickVery despondent or sorrowful; heartsore.
  • inconsolableNot consolable; unable to be consoled or comforted, usually due to grief, disappointment, or other distress.
  • infelicitous
  • jawfallenDejected, dispirited.
  • joylessWithout joy; unhappy, sad.
  • lachrymoseTearful, sorrowful, sad, pertaining to tears, weeping, causing tears or crying.
  • lowDepressed in mood, dejected, sad.
  • low-spiritedDisheartened, feeling low, in low spirits.
  • lugubriousGloomy, mournful or dismal, especially to an exaggerated degree.
  • melancholicFilled with or affected by melancholy—great sadness or depression, especially of a thoughtful or introspective nature.
  • melancholyAffected with great sadness or depression.
  • miserableIn a state of misery: very sad, ill, or poor.
  • moodySulky or depressed.
  • mopeyGiven to moping; in a depressed condition, low in spirits; lackadaisical.
  • moroseSullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour.
  • plaintiveSounding sorrowful, mournful or melancholic.
  • PlutonianOf, relating to, or having characteristics associated with the underworld; dark, gloomy; mournful.
  • PlutonicSynonym of Plutonian (“of, relating to, or having characteristics associated with the underworld; dark, gloomy...
  • querulousOften complaining; suggesting a complaint in expression; fretful, whining.
  • sad
  • saddened
  • saturnineOf a person: having a tendency to be cold and gloomy.
  • shatteredEmotionally defeated or dispirited.
  • solemn
  • sombreMelancholic, gloomy, dreary, dismal; grim.
  • sorrowfulExhibiting sorrow; dejected; distraught; sad. (of a person).
  • sorrow-riddenFilled with sorrow or sorrows.
  • sorrowsomeMarked by sorrow; sad; dreary; sorrowful.
  • spiritlessLacking energy, drive, motivation or emotion. Enervated.
  • sullenGloomy; dismal; foreboding.
  • threneticSorrowful; mournful.
  • threneticalThrenetic.
  • uncheerfulNot cheerful.
  • uncheeryNot cheery; gloomy, pessimistic.
  • unconsolableSynonym of inconsolable.
  • unhappyNot happy; sad.
  • unlivelyNot lively.
  • woebegoneOf a person: deeply affected or overwhelmed by suffering or trouble, and so filled with woe (“great distress or...
  • woefulFull of woe; sorrowful; distressed with grief or calamity.
  • wretchedCharacterized by or feeling deep affliction or distress; very miserable.
  • lumpish obsoleteMiserable, sad.
  • passionate obsolete
  • triste rareSad; sorrowful; gloomy.
  • tristful archaicSad, melancholic.
  • woe obsoleteWoeful; sorrowful.

adjectiveCausing pity; piteous.

  • patheticArousing pity, sympathy, or compassion; exciting pathos.
  • pitisomeCharacterised or marked by pitifulness; piteous.
  • ruefulInspiring pity or compassion.
  • piteousProvoking pity, compassion, or sympathy.
  • pitiableThat deserves, evokes or can be given pity; pitiful.
  • pitifulSo appalling or sad that one feels or should feel sorry for it; eliciting pity.
  • poorWorthy of pity.
  • snivellyPitiful; whining.
  • sorry-ass slang, vulgarPitiful, worthless; utterly terrible or dire.
  • compassionate obsoleteHaving, feeling or showing compassion (to or toward someone).
  • pathetisad rarePathetic: arousing scornful pity or contempt.

adjectiveFull of ruth or pity; merciful; compassionate.

Opposite of ruthful

adjectiveFull of ruth or pity; merciful; compassionate.

  • mercilessShowing no mercy; cruel and pitiless.
  • ruthlessWithout pity or compassion; cruel, pitiless.

Meaning of ruthful

  1. adjective Full of sorrow; sorrowful; woeful; rueful.
  2. adjective Causing pity; piteous.
  3. adjective Full of ruth or pity; merciful; compassionate.

Full definition of ruthful

ruthful in other languages

Questions about synonyms of ruthful

What is another word for ruthful?
Ruthful has 103 synonyms on Word.ws, such as depressed, miserable, unhappy, heavy-hearted, low-spirited, grief-stricken, melancholy and sorrow-ridden.
What is the opposite of ruthful?
The opposite of ruthful is ruthless.
What does ruthful mean?
Ruthful means full of sorrow; sorrowful; woeful; rueful.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ruthful (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of ruthful.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/ruthful. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.